1.4.3

Types of Earthquake

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Types of Earthquakes

Earthquakes happen within the Earth at different depths. There are 2 main types of earthquakes:

Illustrative background for What is a shallow-focus earthquake?Illustrative background for What is a shallow-focus earthquake? ?? "content

What is a shallow-focus earthquake?

  • Shallow-focus earthquakes are earthquakes where the focus (the point underground where the energy radiates from) is close to the Earth's surface.
  • Shallow-focus earthquakes have a focus that is between 0km and 70km under the Earth's surface.
Illustrative background for What is a deep-focus earthquake?Illustrative background for What is a deep-focus earthquake? ?? "content

What is a deep-focus earthquake?

  • Deep-focus earthquakes are earthquakes where the focus (the point underground where the energy radiates from) is far away from the Earth's surface.
  • Deep-focus earthquakes have a focus that is more than 70km under the Earth's surface.
  • Deep-focus earthquakes usually happen at convergent plate margins, where crust has previously been forced downwards by another plate towards the Earth's core.
  • Deep-focus earthquakes are generally less damaging because the focus is so far from the Earth's surface.
Illustrative background for What are underwater earthquakes?Illustrative background for What are underwater earthquakes? ?? "content

What are underwater earthquakes?

  • Underwater earthquakes move the bottom of the sea (the seabed).
  • This can displace water and can create tsunamis (series of enormous waves).
  • Waves can pick up a lot of speed in deep oceans, so tsunamis like the one that hit Japan in 2011 can catch people off-guard and cause many deaths.

Jump to other topics

1Physical Geography

1.1River Environments

1.2Coastal Environments

1.3Hazardous Environments - Tropical Cyclones

1.4Hazardous Environments - Earthquakes & Volcanoes

2Human Geography

3Global Issues

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